McKeon pledges to reintroduce Soledad Canyon Mine Act

Thursday

Oct 2, 2008 at 12:02 PMOct 2, 2008 at 12:04 PM

FROM STAFF REPORTS

WASHINGTON D.C. — Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon announced Thursday that with the end of the congressional session nearing, he will carry the Soledad Canyon Mine Act into the 111th Congress. H.R. 5887, legislation that incorporates an agreement reached by the cities of Santa Clarita and Victorville and Cemex to settle a dispute regarding a mine proposed to operate in Soledad Canyon, has bipartisan support that will continue as the bill is reintroduced.

The legislative proposal from McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, would cancel two ten-year Soledad Canyon mining contracts that Cemex has with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, thereby ending the possibility of mining at the Soledad Canyon site.

As part of the legislation, Cemex has agreed to trade a mining contract in Los Angeles County for up to 8,000 acres of federal land near Victorville, which will then be sold to the city.